Jessica Scott

On the field, he seems no different – just another bruising linebacker attacking the football the way young men are taught throughout the country.

But Matt Berning wasn’t like most linebackers growing up. Berning didn’t play little-league football. He didn’t go to local high school football games and wonder what it would be like to play under the lights.

When he turned on his television on Sundays, he didn’t see National Football League stars Lawrence Taylor, Ray Lewis and others, and dream of one day being like them.

Where he’s from – Germany – the football league most people watch is the Bundesliga, and they play with their feet.

A country man

Berning was born and raised in Duisburg, Germany, a metropolis of about 500,000 people in the western part of the country. He grew up wanting to play basketball in the National Basketball Association, like countryman Dirk Nowitzki, who plays for the Dallas Mavericks.

An only child, Berning turned down an offer to play basketball at an elite private school in Germany, not wanting to move away from his parents, Werner and Sandra.

Berning later regretted that decision and decided to go forward with another opportunity – a chance to play basketball as a foreign-exchange student in the United States.

“More or less, that was the thing that really drove me, thinking that I missed an opportunity in my life, going to that private school,” Berning said.

When Berning arrived at Mexico High School in Missouri as a 16-year-old foreign exchange student, the first thing he went looking for was basketball practice.

He was surprised to learn that unlike in Germany, American high school sports have seasons, and basketball was not until the winter.

The news was disappointing to Berning, but after finding out that sports and equipment were free at Mexico HS, he decided to try something new in the meantime – football.

“I didn’t want to sit around all fall being a bum, and I thought I might try out for the football team and I fell in love with it,” Berning said. “Coaches told me I had potential to play football, maybe at a collegiate level.”

Back home

When Berning returned to Duisburg, he joined the Dusseldorf Panther Junior Team in summer 2004, just after the team had won the German Football League Junior Championship.

The team won the GFLJ Championship again in 2005. Berning was MVP of the championship game, and Panther coach Sascha Jaekel remembers him being involved in nearly every play.

“One thing, which is still in my mind, is that he made outstanding hits in our special teams,” Jaekel said. “He was also the long snapper, and because of his speed he was always the first guy in the returner’s face.

“I would like to have him on the offense as a fullback, but the defensive coaches (wanted) Matt for linebacker. I remember one of the national coaches saying that he can play every position, without a doubt.”

In the summer of 2007, Berning returned to the U.S. in search of a college scholarship. He went to the University of Missouri to drop off a game tape and ran into David Yost, the recruiting coordinator at Missouri.

Yost looked at Berning’s tape and told the coaches at CMU, who under new coach Butch Jones, still was looking to fill its recruiting class.

Jones said he was impressed with Berning the minute he saw him on tape.

“When we saw his film, we saw a person who played with a lot of passion, was extremely physical and really loved the game of football,” he said. “He had all the intangibles that we were looking for, and we really liked his physicality.”

A few days later, Jones called Berning to set up a visit. Berning drove through the night and met with Jones the next day.

“Coach Jones offered me a scholarship, and it’s the best day of my life so far,” Berning said.

Catching up

When Berning arrived for the first day of fall practice at CMU, he found the game much different than the one he left in Germany. Berning said it took time to adjust to the speed of the game and the terminology the coaches were using.

“I didn’t grow up watching Sunday night football and having John Madden explain everything to me like these guys,” Berning said. “When they come to college, they know almost everything about football, the ins and outs.

“So something that might seem obvious to every other player might be something totally different and totally new for me, something that I haven’t experienced and something I don’t know.”

But Berning committed to catching up as quickly as possible. He did so in time to play in all 14 of CMU’s games as a freshman in 2007, making 31 tackles.

He impressed Jones with his work ethic.

“You look at him coming in and playing as a true freshman, and I think that speaks volumes for him with coming where he came from and having to play right away,” Jones said.

Missing home

However, his first season wasn’t the easiest for Berning.

Like many college freshmen, he struggled with homesickness. With his parents still in Germany, Berning was unable to see them, even during off weeks.

Berning said the toughest part was being away from his family during the holidays last season. CMU played Purdue on Dec. 26, 2007 in the Motor City Bowl, and Berning missed Christmas with his family for the first time.

“It is tough, because I know it’s tough on my family,” he said. “It’s maybe even a little tougher on them than it is on me. I know especially my mom is having a rough time.”

Sandra Berning said she talks to her son at least once a week, but says it’s not the same as seeing him in person.

“It is very hard to have him so far away,” said Sandra, who used Matt as an interpreter. “The hardest part is that I cannot just go visit and hug him every once in awhile.”

Yet Matt found solace in his teammates, who he says became like a second family to him. After spending Christmas in a hotel with them last season, Berning realized they too were homesick.

“One thing that I’ve learned during the time being away from home is the feeling of homesickness doesn’t go up by how far away you are away from home,” Berning said. “It’s tough at times. Of course I miss my family and I miss my friends back home, but I found an equal substitute here in our football program and our coaches and our players and my friends that I’ve got here.”

The camaraderie Matt shares with his teammates has made his absence from home easier for his father Werner.

“As long as I know that he is alright, I can live with it,” Werner said, also using Matt as an interpreter.

Continual improvement

Berning found that keeping himself busy also helps ease the homesickness.

Kicker Andrew Aguila lives with Berning, and said Berning’s approach to the game helped him catch up to his U.S. teammates.

“Matt has a very, very good work ethic,” Aguila said. “He’s always in here either trying to get his body better by lifting, or he’s in the training room getting healed up, or he’s in here watching film, he’s meeting with the coaches, meeting with graduate assistants.

“He’s trying to learn all the ins and outs about the game to perfect his position, whether it’s linebacker or whether it’s for special teams.”

This season, Berning started the last three games and played in every game at outside linebacker. He already surpassed last season’s total with 36 tackles, and is tied for the team lead with two fumble recoveries.

As an international business major, Berning hopes to return to Germany after he completes his degree and football career at CMU. He said Jaekel uses his success to help motivate others.

“I know my coaches from back home use me and made a highlight tape to kind of show the young ones, ‘Look at that guy, he played here, sat at the same chairs you guys sit at, and if you put enough effort in it, and if you really want to do it, you can,’” Berning said. “I’m glad I have that kind of role model function for young guys back home.”

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E-mail the author: Justin Berndt